A Taste For Blood
by Foniko
Summary: Robin, the Boy Wonder, is on patrol by himself one night when he has a super-natural encounter with a girl named Ash. With one bite, this creature of the night sets a whole prophecy rolling into motion. Friends will turn into enemies. Trust will turn into hate. With no where else to run, Richard seeks help from both his old mentor, and his most hated villain yet...
1. A Bad Beginning

**Hey guys, this is my first Teen Titans Fanfic! Yay! Hope you enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: As you all know, I am not the owner of Teen Titans. If I was, the show would still be playing today! ;) Oh, but Ash is definitely my own character! No stealzies plz! **

**…..**

He paced the street restlessly, flipping his communicator over in his palm. The only sound was the slap of his boots hitting the wet concrete and the drizzling water dripping from dented gutters on the roadside.

Finally, the small device in his hand beeped and he flipped it open eagerly. Beast Boy's face appeared in the grainy image floating above the screen. Cyborg flew the air behind him and landed on something off-screen with a loud crash.

"Robin? I don't know if you can hear me; my communicator was broken in a fight with a Slade Bot. We're being overrun! We're all down by the docks! Get here as fast as you can!" and he disappeared.

With a growl, the Boy Wonder launched himself towards his motor bike, determined to help his friends. He couldn't let them down, not after all the times they were there for _him._

He swung himself onto the seat and wrapped his hands around the throttle when something large impacted with the center of his chest and he toppled backwards off his bike and skidded across the pavement. Without waiting to recover his breath, he threw his weight to the side and rolled onto the sidewalk just in time to avoid another attack from… what? A black flash zipped under the flickering streetlight and pounded a crack in the concrete where he had been half a moment before.

"Show yourself!" he shouted, furious. He reached into his belt and pulled out his bo-staff. It flashed in the dim moon light as it extended in his hands.

A teenage girl suddenly appeared in the road in front of him. She had long black hair down to her waist and was dressed entirely in the same color, down to her midnight army boots. She grinned at him crazily, her eyes flashing, and rushed forward.

Her fist swung towards his face with inhuman speed and he swung his staff to block it. What happened next was quite embarrassing. The force from the blow sent his own staff rocketing back and smacked him across the bridge of his nose. Blood splattered on the ground. With a growl, he swung his staff in a series of expert moves, but she jumped and twisted with that same impossible speed and evaded every single strike.

He lowered his bo-staff, panting and eyeing his opponent, who stood with her hands on her hips across the street, warily. A grin spread across her face, and not a happy one. It was an eerie, way too big for her face, grin. She started laughing, and he flinched. This was not a happy laugh, either. It was a dark, insane cackle. She doubled over, trying to catch her breath and he saw his chance.

He threw a fog-exploding birdarang at her feet and yellowish mist exploded into the air. He wove his way towards where he last saw his enemy, and frowned when she wasn't there.

Pain exploded in the back of his head when something heavy connected with his skull. He fell to his hands and knees, dazed as a pair of fingerless-gloved hands yanked him back through a dark alley by his black and yellow cape.

"Aww! Poor Bird Brain got hit by a big bad bully!" someone hissed in his ear.

He swung his arm back and smirked when his elbow smashed into something hard with a satisfying crunch. Whoever his attacker was, they howled in pain and fury and stumbled away from him.

"Looks like the bully finally got hit back!" he snarled. He knew it was lame, but it was the best he could think of at the moment, and he didn't really care. He whipped around and saw the girl holding her hand to a bleeding gash on her forehead.

She grimaced and glared at him. "Anelthèoa!" she hissed. Instantly, his arms felt like some of Starfire's gross pudding. No matter how much he tried to move, he was stuck. He panicked slightly as she advanced.

But then she stopped.

She pressed her two fingers to an earpiece he hadn't noticed before.

She glanced at him, a confused expression on her face. "You don't want me to kill him?" she asked to whoever was on the other end. He stiffened. Suddenly, she let that insane smile crack across her face. She glanced at him out of the corners of her dark gray eyes. "Aye aye, captain!" she laughed and pulled her hand away.

She stood in front of him and eyed him up and down. "You know, Golden Boy, you're kinda cute." He moved to spit several foul curses at her, but he still couldn't move his lips. With a snap of her fingers, his mouth was able to move.

"Make a move, and I'm sorry, but Star will probably fry you." he smirked.

"Oh, really?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "Funny, seeming as my name is Ash."

He rolled his eyes. "Well, gee, you're smart. Why don't you go ahead and tell me where you live, as well? I'm sure the cops would just _looove _to know."

She laughed. "You're funny, too." then she sobered up. "Unfortunately, I won't have the pleasure of killing you tonight."

He couldn't help but relax slightly.

"Oh, don't think your little life is saved. It's going to be a living nightmare." She grinned flashing fangs.

He gasped, trying to move away from her, but, he discovered, one again, that he was still stuck in place. "What are you?!"

"Oh, Robin, you know what I am." she laughed. "You can't tell me you've never heard of us… creatures of the night."

"Stay away from me." he hissed.

"Now why would I want to do that? After all, if I defy my master, there will be… _severe _punishments."

She stalked behind him and he stiffened as he felt to small pricks in his neck. The alley spun before his eyes and faded away in the swirling black abyss of death.

** Authors Note:**

** Me: GET YOUR LITTLE *censored* HANDS OFF OF ROBIN!**

** Ash: *Snaps teeth* Why? He's soooo cute!**

** Me: YOU-**

** Ash: *slaps hand over Foniko's mouth* Hehehe… we will see you next week… if one of us isn't ****_found dead in the GUTTER!_**


	2. A Broken Connection

**Disclaimer: Ugh, you guys already now this stuff. I don't own the Teen Titans, nor am I claiming to, so DC, you guys can put your lawyers on hold.**

...

Raven's POV

Black magic enveloped a Slade Bot and sent it flying across the long since abandoned parking lot with a loud crunch. But her victory smirk was cut short when a giant metal humanoid caught her painfully against the shoulder and sent her careening through the air. She crashed into Starfire, despite her efforts to slow herself, and sent them both tumbling to the ground.

She stood with a grimace and dodged another oncoming attack. The metallic robot skidded right past her and rammed its clumsy head into a lamppost, where it crumpled. She frowned. Something was definitely not right here. Slade would never create such useless servants.

Something snapped in her mind and opened a giant, empty and black void. It was so sudden, she gasped and took a step back. The emptiness… she closed her eyes for a moment and cast about her thoughts. _There! _Something was missing right there. She struggled to suck in another breath. This was where Robin's thoughts should be.

Something had broken the connection breakable only by death.

Struggling to contain her leaking emotions, she allowed herself to be swallowed with her own magic. She desperately fought back tears as she reappeared nearest where she had last known of her friend. It was completely silent.

She took a hushed step forward, heading down the empty street. Soundless tears slid down her cheeks at an alarming rate. Light reflected off of something metallic and glared in her eyes. She turned towards it hopefully. Robin's cycle was lying on its side, a massive dent under the handle bars. Several feet away, a deep crack was smashed into the pavement.

She could suddenly see the fight that had broken out here. Flashes of Robin's staff and a black streak of speed and power.

She crouched by a small splatter of blood. A memory of Robin's bo-staff slashing back at his face erupted in her mind, but it wasn't hers. Yellow fog clouded her vision and her breathing quickened. Agony shot through her skull, and she fell forward. But, as she whipped around, the fog cleared. There was no one there.

She pulled fresh air into her lungs and glanced around. There was a dark alley to her right. Something moved deep within the shadows, blending with the gloom. Sharp grey eyes stared out at her and flashed a bright, sickly yellow, then disappeared.

She darted down the alley after them.

...

Starfire's POV

"Please, where is friend Raven?" Starfire asked worriedly. In the middle of the fight with the Slade Bots, her friend had mysteriously disappeared.

"I'm not sure, Star." Beast Boy answered, morphing back into his human form from a wolf. "Her and Robin's communicators are in the same place, so I think they must be patrolling together."

A teensy weensy flare of jealousy sparked inside of the Tameranian. Robin was her boy of friends, was he not? Should not Starfire and Robin be patrolling together instead of Raven and Robin?

She shook away the thought. They were both her dearest of friends. They would not go behind her back like that. Slight shame flushed her cheeks. She had made mean assumptions about her friends. She was disloyal, and on Tameran, she would have been in trouble for showing such rudeness.

Her communicator beeped, and she flipped it open to reveal Raven's concerned face hovering over the screen. Starfire could spot the infirmary in the background.

"Hello, friend Raven!" Starfire called cheerfully.

"Guys... ack, this is hard to explain over radio. Just get to the tower as fast as you can." and the connection shattered as the closed her communicator.

Cyborg and Beast Boy were already in the T-car when she looked up.

"Come one, Star, let's go!" Cyborg shouted out the window.

The elevator doors slid open with a quiet _ding_ and the rest of the Titans stepped into the infirmary.

Raven jumped up from the chair next to the bed and blurted "I found him like this in an alley way."

Robin was lying completely still under the soft white sheets.

"Friend Raven, what has happened?" Starfire squeaked.

"I... I don't know." she shook her head solemnly. "Do you remember when the reagent on Slade's mask took control of him, and I went inside his mind to find him?" she continued when she received a chorus of nods from the others. "Well, it formed a sort of mental link, and it's only breakable by the death of either of us.

"In the middle of the battle with the Slade Bots, the mental connection was severed, so I teleported to where he had been before, and I found him like this. I can sense something's really, really wrong, but I don't know what."

A long, tense silence followed after her conclusion.

"Maybe," said Cyborg, "his old mentor knows what it is."

Starfire felt her eyes widen, as she saw with Beast Boy. She had heard many great stories about the man of bats, although Robin never liked to speak of him.

Raven nodded uncertainly. "Beast Boy, call the Batman."

**Authors Note:**

**Me: Okay guys, sorry about the late update and the short chapter. I've been busy with school lately, soooo...**

**Ash: Pffft! You little liar! You've been sitting around watching Batman movies!**

**Me: Ah... I can explain that...**

**Ash: Yeah, right. Bye guys, see you next week! :D**


	3. The Revelation

**Okay, I am going to submit to boredom to writing this part here, cuz I am too lazy to think of a witty comeback to yell at some lawyers. I do not own any Teen Titans characters, nor Batman. Ash IS my OC, tho, so do not steal. Comments welcome. :3**

...

Bruce sighed as something small next to him beeped. Of course. As soon as he gets back from busting some drug-dealers, he gets to go on some other mission. He picked up the small device and looked at the screen. His eyes widened as he read "_Dick is now calling. Answer. Ignore." _He held his breath for a moment, then tapped _Accept._ He had not talked to his adopted son in a long time. Not since their fight that ended with Richard vowing to never see Bruce again.

"Hello? Richard?" he asked gruffly.

There was a shuffle on the other end and then, "Hello, Mr. er, Man of Bats? This is Robin's friends. I am Starfire, and this is Beast Boy an thi-"

"What do you want, and why do you have my son's communicator?" he responded sharply with an angry scowl. He recognized the names of the group of teenage heroes Robin now worked with called the Teen Titans.

There was a taken aback whimper on the other line before Starfire hesitantly said, "Robin has been injured and refuses to awaken, Mr. Man of Bats." Bruce stiffened and listened intently to the details the Titans knew of the attack. It wasn't much.

"I'm on my way." he said, ending the call. He shouldered on his coat and grabbed a bag, stuffing everything he could possibly need into it as fast as he could. While he was still angry with Dick, he had forgiven his son and missed his son. He could not forgive himself if- no, he could not afford to think like that. Dick was going to be okay. But his mind couldn't help but flash to the two tombstones already on the grounds of the Wayne Manner...

...

The Dark Night walked up to the door of the Titans Tower, not completely sure of what to do. Should he knock, or was it open, or... he had no clue. It was an _elevator_ that allowed anyone through? No way.

There was a slight buzz and a robotic voice said "Open to guest." and the elevator doors slid open to reveal a spacious interior. He walked in after just a moments hesitation and glanced around in the top corners, looking for cameras. He found one obvious one sticking out of the wall, but further inspection proved it to be fake. Taking a closer look at the wall's decorative pattern, he revealed four more tiny, real camera's betrayed only by the occasional small blink that it was recording.

With a ding, the elevator opened and he stepped out into a huge room occupied by a large sectional couch and a huge flat screen television that could rewire itself to work as a computer. To his right was a kitchen and up ahead, two halls. Unsure of where to go, and slightly unsettled by the lack of life in the tower, he set his bag down and pulled out a bat-a-rang.

He almost jumped when a loud bark sounded behind him. He whipped around and saw a green dog suddenly stretch into the form of a teen with elfish ears. "Woah. The Batman..." he said, staring at him with wide eyes.

"Where's Robin?" Bruce said, worry crawling through him like insects.

"Oh, down this hall. Come on." He started down the hall to the right of the tv. and left Bruce no choice but to follow or be lost in this immense building. They passed several metal doors and locked keypads before arriving at a door wider than most with a sign posted over it that said "Infirmary". They slid open with no apparent reasoning.

An orange alien with long pink hair was asleep in a chair next to a bed occupied by his ward and he flinched when he saw the heart monitor beating at an incredibly slow rate. Robin was no longer wearing his mask.

"Raven and Cyborg went out to buy... something." Beast Boy shrugged.

Without a word, Bruce took a seat on the other side of the Tameranian girl. Beast Boy muttered something and left the room. He turned to Dick and narrowed his eyes when he spotted something peculiar. Moving closer, he nudged Richard's head to the side. Two tiny red pricks stood out on the side of his throat. He sat with a heavy thump in his chair, gears in his head moving at a rapid rate.

Unfortunately, the sound woke the alien girl next to him and she stirred. He stiffled a groan as he realized he was about to be bombarded with endless questions when she blinked curiously at him. "You are the Man of Bats?" she asked sleepily, rubbing the bruises under her eyes from lack of sleep.

"Allies call me Bruce, and I prefer that you would while I'm here." he said. He could not risk being called Batman in public while dressed as normal Bruce Wayne.

She nodded and turned towards Robin. "He has not awoken while I was asleep, has he? I would feel the most regrettable guilt if he did."

Bruce shook his head. "No." he paused. "Surely you have noticed the bite on his neck?"

Starfire bolted out of her chair. Literally. It exploded in a burst of green light and she stood over her "friend of boys". He grimaced in not-so-slight-annoyance. How had they not noticed? He could be dying right now because of their ignorance.

"Call your team in here. Now." he growled, the muscles in his jaw working furiously.

Without question, she flipped open her communicator and signaled to her friends of the recent news. It closed with a small snap and she turned to Bruce. "Mr. Man of Ba- er... Bruce- do you know what has bitten Robin?" she asked pleadingly, eyes shining with unshed tears.

"No," he said gruffly, and softened when he saw dismay and fear flicker across her face. "But Robin's a tough one. He'll be okay."

In response, she gave him a quick smile and then turned as the door opened and the rest of the team filed in. They each cast a curious and admiring glance at the Batman and then turned back to Starfire. Except for Raven.

"Robin's not weakening. In fact," she continued when his eyes narrowed slightly in fascination. "he seems to only be growing stronger. I can sense it, but he won't wake up."

He grunted. "From what I can see, it looks to be some sort of animal. A human could not even file their teeth that sharp," he shuddered inwardly at the thought of somebody sharpening their teeth like that. But then again, he _had _seen some pretty weird stuff in the dangerous criminals in Gotham. "But not any known one, or at least known ones around this city." he shrugged tensely. "It does not want to draw attention to itself. Look at how small the punctures are." He was excellent at noticing things.

"Dear friend Raven, could you perhaps try waking up Robin with your magic?" Starfire suggested, shifting slightly towards the left as Beast Boy turned into a lion to stretch next to her.

Raven considered the question for a moment. Bruce was even curious himself. Finally, she tilted her head and answered, "Yes, I suppose I could try." She hovered higher in the air so she could push herself into the air to sit cross legged and closed her eyes, her cape billowing out behind her. "Azerath Metrion Zenthos," she whispered. Her facial features slightly contorted with concentration. "Azerath Metrion ZENTHOS." she said louder with more emphasis. Slowly, her eyes opened and she floated back to the ground, frowning. "That should have worked."

With a sudden violent spasm, Robin jerked up in his bed and let out a flurry of heavy coughs. With a last wheeze, the fit subsided and his head fell heavily back onto his pillow. His eyes fluttered open. Everyone in the room gasped.

His blue eyes were no longer blue.

They were yellow.


End file.
